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Oni
Oni are a demihuman species who live in the Cursed Wastes and in the caves and foothills south of Ingmarl. Their name comes from the word demonic, referring to their demonic parentage. They as a species have faced much adversity and persecution from their other parent species, the humes. Physiology Oni are humanoids with blue-grey or green-grey skin, varying from very pale to very dark skin tones. They have red or gold eyes with a dark or red sclera and pointed ears. Oni possess black, blue, grey, purple, or in rare cases, red hair. Blue and white hair are also common. Oni can stand between 6-9 feet tall, making them larger than other humes. Some, but not all oni possess horns, though these are able to be hidden behind a glamour. They are sensitive to light, have tough skin, and possess tremendous strength and a constant blood lust they must keep in check. In prolonged daylight their reactions become dulled and lethargic, and exposure to the sun enough for a sun burn will immobilize them and turn their skin stone-like instead. Due to their light sensitivity they prefer to be active at night. Even in old age, they are not as frail or incapacitated as other creatures. There are four distinct races of oni: Orkhul The orkhul are a group of oni with greenish-grey skin and a pair of boar-like tusks; they have been purpose-bred fighters. They are the most numerous of all types of oni and are savage fighters and raiders, though shaman-like orkhul have been encountered. They have long ago accepted their cruel fate and wear their scars with honor and pride. To the orkhul, a scar sustained from protecting another oni is a mark of beauty, and a reminder of the pain and sacrifice they have endured. Ogruhl A dark grey skinned type of oni, ogruhl are the strongest and largest type, reaching heights of over three meters tall with protruding canines. Both males and females are extremely well-muscled with massive limbs, and ogruhl are fond of using their fists. As oni struggling to survive, some ogruhl have taken to farming, pulling the plows through the fields themselves. Gargul A blue grey skinned oni variant and the smallest physically, gargul are unique in that they possess wings and can glide on updrafts and on the wind, though they have to be a good distance above the ground in order to take off. Their sharp claws can dig into rock, and they can use this to climb vertical surfaces. Garguhl are also excellent swimmers. Dracul A type of oni with pale grey skin, the physically smaller and leaner dracul use their retractable upper canines to feed. Dracul possess blinding speed which can appear to others like short-range teleportation. They also have a natural psionic ability to hypnotize those whom they lock gazes with. Because they are the most "normal" looking of the oni, they also tend to be the ambassadors of their race. Culture Due to their history of mistreatment and violence from humes, the oni are withdrawn from most species, only showing in territorial skirmishes and the occasional midnight raid. They are a tribal society with some who wander in nomadic bands, and are ruled by the strongest and most cunning individual of that group. Those who have settled in villages have domesticated cows and horses. Religion They do not worship any of the hume gods, for they believe those gods to be either cruel or impotent to let their children run amok. Instead they worship Du'Ruk-han, a headless dracul rider with a scythe. Du'Ruk-han is a hero to the oni, standing up to hume oppressors and even fighting on for a time after he was decapitated; they wait for his return one day to exact vengeance on their behalf. Interspecies Relations * The oni tend to be mistrustful of humes; although strides have recently been made in protecting oni in hume society, old tensions still simmer. * They have a complicated relationship with the Beast Tribes. Many of the beasts look down on the oni as inferior, in part thanks to the Cestra making it part of their culture. There are also beasts who recognize the truth and their similar beginnings, but do not wish to go against the humes. History The oni were created by powerful Cestran magi as experiments by injecting their hume subjects with demonic blood, and eventually by using hume surrogates to breed oni. These subjects were usually slaves, prisoners, or other undesirables, and this treatment only served to deepen the resentment the new oni felt against their creators. Many did not survive the transformation process due to their bodies rejecting the demonic components, and of those that survived, some lost their minds, becoming feral creatures. Originally conceived as a response to the Demon War by making a stronger soldier, their creation was a controversy poorly received by many other Cestra. This perception turned around when they were eventually adapted as a tool for personal convenience, becoming servants, guards, soldiers, and even jesters to their masters. They eventually came to resent their treatment at the hands of their cruel masters and rebelled after a series of tragic events that clearly valued the lives of Cestrans over oni. The initial response from the Cestra was brutal as they sought to reclaim what they saw was their property, and many oni were slaughtered. Yet the uprisings could not be crushed, and the pressing threat of the demon hordes along with the internal pressure of their fracturing empire caused the Cestra to re-evaluate. They decided to tolerate the existence of the oni and focus all their efforts on repelling the demons. The Cestra turned their attention back to the oni at the conclusion of the Demon Wars, utilizing the techniques learned from working on the oni to create the beasts. They believed that these beasts would be more docile, and were not so corrupted in appearance. The beasts initially complied, but after a time the beasts sympathized with the oni and rebelled for their freedom as well. The Cestran empire was in serious decline at this point, and the remaining oni were able to relocate beyond the reach of the Cestra, and forming a truce with the beasts. However, even today some sadistic humes hunt oni for sport, justifying their actions as demon slaying, and earning the disdain of actual Hunters and Slayers. Most humes today are against the violent treatment of oni, but would prefer not to have them around, either. When oni started arriving in "liberal" cities, many venues enforced "hume only" restrictions, only lifting them reluctantly as commanded by the local government. Category:Species